by Gina Wilkins
Nina was really in a mood this evening. Tess didn’t know what had gone wrong that day for her sister, but she was getting the sharp edge of it.
She glanced at Scott. He was still smiling, smoothly civil. Probably only she could tell that he was irked when he said lightly, “Actually, this party was just an excuse for me to spend an evening with Tess away from work.”
Ken gave Tess a perfunctory kiss on the cheek. “You look nice tonight, Tess.”
That drew Nina’s gaze to Tess’s clothes. “Pants? Oh, well, I suppose you’re comfortable. Come in and say hello to Dana and Lloyd. Jolie and Cam are here, and Mary and Bill. Oh, and Glenn’s here. He came stag. He asked about you.”
She was not the only woman at the party in pants, Tess fumed with a quick glance around that showed her a wide variety of outfits. Hers fit in just fine.
“Glenn?” Scott murmured into Tess’s ear when her sister turned away. “The guy you dated? Mr. Boring?”
She gave him a look. “I thought we’d agreed you weren’t to mention anything you overheard during that phone call,” she said, keeping her voice as low as his.
His smile was unrepentant. “I don’t think I agreed to that at all.”
She looked past him to smile and return a wave from an acquaintance just inside the doorway of the grand room. “I think I feel a headache coming on,” she said to Scott through a forced smile. “It would be such a shame if we have to leave early.”
He laughed softly and put a hand at her back as they followed her sister and brother-in-law into the gathering. “Introduce me to our hosts, Tess. I need to compliment them on their very tasteful decorations.”
This time a sputter of laughter did escape her. Perhaps the party wouldn’t be so bad after all, not with Scott at her side.
* * *
The gleam of amusement in Tess’s eyes was reward enough for the effort he’d made to come to this thing with her, Scott decided. No wonder she’d been so stressed at the thought of attending. Her sister treated her like a recalcitrant child, while their cousin was too busy showing off to make a real connection with anyone at the party. Tess seemed to know quite a few of the other guests, but not in a close way. Most of them mentioned how they rarely got to see her. When Nina made a point to introduce him as Tess’s boss, they nodded knowingly.
He got the distinct impression that he was known among Tess’s friends and family as a somewhat demanding employer. Totally unfair. He never required Tess to be at work all the time. She just happened to be as committed to the company as he was, as conscientious about her responsibilities there. Had Tess used him as an excuse to escape to the refuge of the work she loved rather than tolerate the condescension of her sister and cousin? Okay, he could live with that. He couldn’t even blame her for latching on to any excuse she could find.
He did wish Nina would back off the “Tess’s boss” introduction, though. His family had accepted that he and Tess were a couple now. Hers seemed to think she’d brought her employer as an escort for lack of another option. He was doing his best to change that impression. He stayed right by her side all evening. He deflected conversation away from work as much as possible. He mentioned other functions they’d attended together. He did everything but plant a kiss on her mouth to demonstrate that his presence at her side was anything but business related.
At least Tess didn’t refer to him as her boss, but tended to say simply, “This is my friend, Scott Prince.”
Friend. Better than boss, he supposed, but still he found himself vaguely dissatisfied by the introduction. But really, what else could she say, he asked himself as he shook the hands of yet another couple whose names he would surely forget. Boyfriend seemed juvenile. He supposed friend would have to do. For now.
Tess hadn’t been wrong about the food, he thought as he popped a lobster puff into his mouth, followed by a spinach-and-goat-cheese mini quiche. Both were delicious, as was everything he’d sampled on the bountiful buffet. He already had his eye on the desserts table, his sweet tooth kicking into high gear at the sight of all the delicacies available there.
“You were right about the food,” he said to Tess as they took a seat at one of the little tables artfully scattered about the great room. “Good stuff.”
She smiled and picked up a wild-mushroom toast square from her own plate. “Dana would love hearing you say that. She takes great pride in her parties.”
He could tell she was fond of her cousin despite their dissimilarity. “I’ll be sure to compliment her when we take our leave.”
“There you are, Tess. I saw you earlier but couldn’t make my way to you.”
Scott felt her stiffen a bit, though she turned in her seat with a smile in response to the male voice. “Hi, Glenn. How have you been?”
The portly, broad-faced man who appeared to be in his midthirties, perhaps a couple years younger than Scott, took Tess’s outstretched hand and pumped it a bit too enthusiastically. “You look great tonight,” he said, seemingly unable to look away from her. “It’s been too long since we’ve seen each other.”
“Oh, you know how it is,” Tess replied, skillfully extracting her hand. “Work responsibilities get pretty crazy this time of year.”
She turned to Scott, who rose to offer a hand to the other man. “Glenn Stowe, this is my friend, Scott Prince.”
Glenn shook Scott’s hand with an expression that made it clear he wished he was the one with Tess, instead. “Prince,” he repeated, glancing from Scott to Tess and back again. “You own the company Tess works for?”
“Yes, I do.”
He could almost see the change in Glenn’s posture. It couldn’t be more obvious that Glenn took encouragement from learning Scott’s identity. “It’s nice to meet you. Tess has spoken of you often.”
In a business context, Scott silently finished.
Glenn had already turned back to Tess. “I’m so glad you weren’t injured in that car accident this morning. You’re sure you’re all right? I can’t help worrying that you should have had a doctor check you, just in case.”
“I’m fine, Glenn, really. No sore neck or anything, just impatient to get my car back.”
“So you knew about Tess’s wreck?” Scott asked, working hard to keep his tone politely neutral.
Tess explained quickly, “Didn’t I mention it? Glenn is my insurance agent.”
“Yes, I see why you had to call him.”
She cleared her throat, then glanced around. “Excuse me, guys, my cousin is motioning for me,” she murmured, taking a few steps away. “I’ll catch up with you later, okay, Glenn? Scott, I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll guard your food,” he assured her with a somewhat strained smile.
She gave a quick laugh. “That’s leaving the fox in the henhouse. My crab Rangoon better still be on my plate when I get back.”
Though it was hard to take his gaze from her as she moved so gracefully away, he turned back to the table. He was almost surprised to see Glenn still standing there.
“There are more of the crab things on the buffet table if you want your own,” the other man offered helpfully.
“Thanks, Glenn, but she was teasing.”
Glenn nodded. “It’s hard to tell sometimes with Tess. She has a very subtle sense of humor.”
Scott didn’t think the reference to a fox in a henhouse had been all that subtle, but maybe Glenn just had a different sense of humor. “Yeah, I guess she does.”
“Working so closely with her for so long, I suppose you’ve gotten to know her pretty well.”
“Yes, I think I know Tess quite well.” Was he being too subtle for Glenn, or had the other man picked up on the hint? He didn’t consider himself the possessive type usually, but occasionally deeply ingrained male instinct just took over.
“She and I have been out
a couple times,” Glenn confided. “I’d hoped to attend this party with her tonight, but I guess I waited too long to ask. I sent her a text last week but she said she had already made plans. With you, I suppose.”
Obviously, Scott almost said, but he merely nodded.
“Maybe I’ll see if she’s free for New Year’s Eve. I should ask earlier this time. But it’s nice that Tess wanted her family and friends to meet her boss this evening. We all know how much her career means to her.”
Scott didn’t know if this guy was doing some clumsy fishing or if he really was as socially clueless as he acted. But Scott was getting fed up with this “boss” crap. “Tess won’t be available on New Year’s Eve,” he said bluntly. “She’ll be with me.”
“Oh?” Glenn blinked, finally catching on. “Ah. So you and Tess are...”
“I’m going to marry her,” Scott replied clearly, succinctly.
He heard a gasp behind him. Maybe a couple of gasps. With a slight wince, he looked around to find Tess a few feet away, staring at him in disbelief. She stood between her sister and her cousin, with her brother-in-law only a few steps behind them. All of them were looking openmouthed at him.
* * *
“Oh, my gosh, Tess, why didn’t you tell us?” Dana squealed, clapping her brightly manicured and bejeweled hands together. “You’re engaged!”
Her head spinning, Tess stammered, “I, um—”
“Yes, Tess, why didn’t you tell us?” Nina demanded, still looking as though someone had knocked the breath clean out of her. “How long has this been going on?”
“I want to see the ring,” Dana insisted, snatching at Tess’s bare left hand. “Oh...no ring?”
“Not yet,” Scott supplied, giving Tess a look that was a mixture of sympathy, apology and...defiance? Daring her to dispute him, perhaps? “Maybe Santa will bring her one for Christmas.”
“Oh, how exciting!” Dana giggled. “Bet it’ll be a good one.”
“Congratulations, Tessie.” Ken kissed her cheek. “I hope you’re both very happy,” he added, reaching out to shake Scott’s hand. “Welcome to the family, Scott. You’ve got yourself a treasure here.”
Scott looked at Tess again when he responded, “Yes, I’m aware of that.”
They were suddenly surrounded by well-wishers, hugged and congratulated and barraged with questions neither was prepared to answer. She noted that Glenn had disappeared into the crowd after unwittingly initiating this excitement. Standing at Scott’s side, she gritted her teeth behind a bright smile and settled for a couple of stock answers. “It’s a recent development” and, “No, we haven’t set a date yet.” She appeased her sister somewhat by promising to visit the next afternoon with all the details.
“We weren’t planning to announce it just yet,” she added with a chiding look toward Scott. “He just got carried away.”
“My bad,” Scott agreed. “I guess I’m just too excited to keep it to myself.”
“Oh, that’s so sweet,” someone crooned while Tess fantasized about strangling him.
They took their leave as soon as they could politely do so. Dana’s husband cracked a suggestive joke about the newly engaged couple wanting to be alone together, earning himself a cold stare from Nina that made him swallow visibly. Tess clutched Scott’s arm in a white-knuckled grip and almost dragged him out the door.
A taut silence surrounded them in Scott’s car as he drove through the gates of the neighborhood. Only when they were on the highway headed toward her condo did he sigh and say, “Okay, let me have it.”
She twisted beneath her seat belt to face his profile. “I can’t even come up with the words.”
“Look, I’m really sorry, Tess. I know that was awkward for you—”
“Gee, you think?”
He winced. “It got away from me. That Glenn guy was grilling me about our relationship, talking about asking you out, brushing me off as nothing more than your boss, and I simply told him the truth. I didn’t realize you and your family were within earshot, though I guess I should have checked before I spoke.”
“Or maybe not have spoken at all?”
“Maybe.”
She could tell he wasn’t entirely sorry. Just what male ego button had Glenn pushed? Surely it hadn’t been intentional; Glenn wasn’t exactly the territorial type. For that matter, she’d never thought of Scott that way, either.
“Technically, I didn’t say we’re engaged,” he added somewhat stiffly. “I told Glenn I’m going to marry you. I just didn’t mention I haven’t officially asked yet. You could have made it clear you haven’t given me an answer yet if you didn’t want everyone to start congratulating us.”
“Oh, that wouldn’t have been awkward at all.”
“Sorry, Tess. But we knew when we started attending these things together that people would want to know what’s going on with us. Like I said, Glenn asked about our relationship and I told him the truth. I want to marry you. I thought we’d already established that.”
She couldn’t quite define the emotions crashing through her. She wasn’t surprised, exactly. Scott had made it clear that this was the direction in which his thoughts had been headed. All that talk of what a good team they made, what a brilliant idea he’d had about them, how nicely she fit in with his family, how well she understood his demanding obligations and responsibilities. Yet in all of that talk, not once had he mentioned love. He’d even had a hard time telling her he’d miss her while he was out of town.
She rode without speaking for the remainder of the drive, and he didn’t push her to express her thoughts. He turned into the parking lot of her condominium compound. “Are you going to invite me in?”
With a little sigh, she reached for her door handle. “Of course. Come in.”
They really did need to talk. The problem was that when they were alone together in her condo, talking was too often the last thing on their minds.
Inside her living room, she dumped her coat and bag on a chair, then turned to face him as he waited patiently for her to speak first. After a moment, she gave a wry laugh and pushed back her hair. “One thing about you, Scott—dealing with you is never boring. Neither at the office nor, it turns out, at parties.”
“I hope that’s a compliment.”
“Not entirely. Every once in a while it might be nice to be prepared for what you’re going to do next.”
Taking a step toward her, he caught her hands in his, gazing somberly into her eyes. “I really am sorry I embarrassed you in front of your family, Tess.”
She bit her lip, then couldn’t resist saying, “Did you see Nina’s face?”
A sudden grin tugged at his lips, though he seemed to be trying to contain it. “Yes. I’d say we surprised her.”
“It’s one of the few times in my entire life I’ve seen my sister struck speechless.”
“How did that feel?”
“It didn’t suck,” she pronounced after another moment.
Scott chuckled. “She does like to get in her digs against you, doesn’t she? I don’t know how you keep from losing your temper with her.”
She shrugged. “I have a few times. I learned long ago that it doesn’t really accomplish anything. She gets all chilly and defensive and makes a grudging apology she doesn’t really mean, and then everything goes back to the way it’s always been. I’ve conceded that if I’m going to have any sort of relationship with my sister in the future, I just have to bite my tongue and accept the way she is.”
He looked annoyed on her behalf. “But you don’t have to let her push you around.”
“I rarely do. I just let her speak her mind and then I pretty much do what I want.”
Running a hand up and down her arm, he laughed softly. “Much as you do with me?”
She shrugged.
�
��I have always admired your quiet determination,” he told her, and though his tone was still light, she could tell he was serious.
As always, his compliment touched her, weakened her resolve against him, dampened her annoyance. Releasing a low sigh, she shook her head slowly. “I guess you know word of this will be all over town by tomorrow. We had mutual acquaintances there, and Dana’s love of gossip is second only to her passion for shopping.”
“Then, we should probably tell my family. I heard you tell Nina you’d be at her house early afternoon tomorrow—why don’t I join you for that and then you can come with me to my folks’ house. We’ll get it all out of the way in one day.”
Out of the way. She frowned at him. “You’re assuming quite a lot, aren’t you?”
He grimaced. “I’m not trying to railroad you. I’m being clumsy again, I’m afraid. This really isn’t my forte, is it?”
He drew a deep breath and asked, “What do you say, Tess? Will you marry me?”
She bit her lip.
“I’m lousy at the romance stuff, you know that,” he said. “I’ll probably forget birthdays and anniversaries and special occasions—hell, I’ve always depended on you to remind me of that stuff anyway. I’ll cancel our plans when work issues come up. I’ll get caught up in mulling over a dilemma and I won’t hear your questions or comments. I’ll be short-tempered and impatient sometimes when I let stress get the better of me.”
“I’m used to all of that,” she reminded him.
He smiled ruefully. “Yeah, I guess you are. I guess what I’m trying to say is you know me better than anyone. I can’t be any different at home than I am at the office because that’s just who I am. Other women didn’t like that. They wanted more from me than I was able to give.”
Lifting his chin, he added proudly, “And by the way, I think I have a hell of a lot to give. I can promise absolute loyalty and faithfulness. I’ll be a good provider, a devoted father, a steadfast supporter of your dreams and ambitions. You can depend on me to be there for you whenever you need me. You and I have always gotten along amazingly well without either of us trying to be something we’re not. We’ve proved that we have a strong, more than satisfying physical connection. I think we can carry our solid partnership into a marriage that will last a lifetime. I know what I want. But it’s in your hands now. I can give you more time, even though I know I rushed things this evening. As much time as you need.”
